How to Slice a Brisket in a Proper Way

Brisket is a fantastic piece of meat. It tastes delicious, whether you roast it in the oven with onions and a beef base, or you like to smoke it outside overnight with pecan wood. This cheaper cut of meat has found its glory with its admirers, who don’t mind waiting for it to slow cook to its crescendo. Properly cooking this delicate piece of meat is one part of the story. In order to fully enjoy this delicious meat, you need to know how to slice a brisket the right way.

If you are always asking yourself if your way of slicing a brisket is the right way to do it, then I am going to finally give you an detailed answer for your question. I will tell you the proper way ofdoing it, based on the brisket anatomy and its cooking type.

Tools You Need

To properly slice a cooked brisket, your need a few tools. We suggest you to get these basic tools, assuming you have already cooked or smoked the meat the way you like it.

Required Tools:

A sharp knife and a fork.

A cutting board.

Two towels.

A serving platter.

You will need a proper knife for slicing. We suggest you a carving knife. The length of this utensil will cover the cross cut of your brisket. A chef knife will also work but a carving knife is preferred.

The most important part of the knife when slicing your meat is making sure that the blade is sharp. You can purchase a knife sharpener at a cooking store, online, or a DIY hardware store.

Quick Kitchen Tip: When you are slicing meat and need a sharp knife immediately but don't have a sharpener, you can put a sharp edge on your knife by running the edge along the bottom of a ceramic coffee mug. This will put a temporary edge on your knife.

How to Slice a Brisket

After you get your sharp knife ready, it is time to start the slicing process.

First, prepare your cutting area by getting you cutting board and putting it on top of a wet towel. Laying the cutting board on top of the towel while slicing your brisket will keep the cutting board from moving around. You should choose a cutting board with a gully in it that will allow any juices to run off.

Then, take your cooked meat, place it on the cutting board and remove any excess fat of it.

Usually, a brisket has two functioning types of fat in it. The marbling fat that lies within the point of the brisket and the excess fat that lays across the entire brisket when it’s cooking. This fat will just slide right off with a little help from you.

Slicing a Brisket Based on Its Anatomy

It is made up of two different overlapping muscles, which are called the point and the flat. The point is the fatty and juicy part of the brisket and the flat is the lean cut of it. Usually, on most of the briskets, the point is connected over two-thirds of the flat.

These muscles make the brisket slicing process a bit tricky, so here is the manner in which part of the muscles you should slice your brisket.

Image Credit: Aaron Franklin

Start by putting your support hand, for most of the people, their left hand, on top of the meat. Apply a bit of pressure, so you can feel how tender your brisket is. Also, by moving your support hand in a circular motion, you can find where the point part ends and where the flat begins. But, be careful to not apply a lot of pressure because the juices will start coming off.​

You want to put your blade perpendicular to the grain of the meat, slicing at an angle, also referred to as, cutting on the bias. Basically, you need to slice against the meat's grain.

Image Credit: Aaron Franklin

Begin slicing, starting with the isolated flat end, working your way back to the piece of the brisket that includes the point where the flat part and the point meet together (Usually around the middle of the piece of meat).

When you get to this part, you should have finished slicing the flat part of your meat (the lean part). Now, you have to begin slicing the point part of the meat (the fatty and juicy part).

Image Credit: Aaron Franklin

​Take the point part and rotate it 90 degrees from your position and then, cut it in the middle using your knife (slice it in half in the opposite direction of your initial cut). Then, start slicing two halves of the point part again in the opposite direction of the flat part. (See the images to understand it better)

It is recommended that when you are slicing on the flat part, your slices should be about a quarter inch in thickness and when slicing the point part, make your slices about a half an inch thick. You slice thickness determine the tenderest of your slices.​

The Second Method for Slicing a Brisket

You can decide to leave your delicious meat in the cut slices or try another method of serving them.

I told you the first and the recommended method for slicing a cooked brisket but there is a second method for you to learn and then serve it. Usually, this method is used by those people who don't like their brisket in slices or don't know how to properly slice their meat.

For this method, separate the brisket with your knife, give it a chunky chop with your knife and then, put the pieces in a bowl with some barbecue sauce. Coat the pieces and give them a quick sear on the grill for about 7-10 minutes.

Your family and friends will enjoy the charbroiled sweetness of the burnt ends, considered a delicacy in the barbecue world.

Final Thoughts​

Being such a delicious meat and at the same time such delicate, can make you screw up a good brisket in so many ways from the time you buy it until the slicing and serving time.

Cooking or smoking the brisket should be the trickiest part but if you don't know how to slice a brisket in the proper way, the last step can ruin your whole work and dedication.

I know that there are different methods on how to do it, but I have included only the most used and the most recommended method.